Picture frame

ABSTRACT

A picture frame comprising a body having a substantially annular configuration wherein a plurality of ornamental members may be removably attached to various points along the outer periphery of the body member. The members are attached by substantially Ushaped clips secured to each member and designed to cooperate with one of a plurality of screws adjustably attached to the body so as to connect the clip in locking engagement with the rear surface of the body. Each of the ornamental members may have a different configuration and may be interchangeably secured at various positions along the periphery of the body thereby allowing one to selectively change the ornamental configuration of the frame.

United States Patent [191 Olczewski 51 Mar. 27, 1973 PICTURE FRAME 21 Appl. No.: 104,312

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 17,093 8/1904 Austria ..40/ 152 Primary Examiner--Robert W. Michell Assistant Examiner-Wenceslao J. Contreras Att0meyStefan M. Stein [57] ABSTRACT A picture frame comprising a body having a substantially annular configuration wherein a plurality of ornamental members may be removably attached to various points along the outer periphery of the body member. The members are attached by substantially U-shaped clips secured to each member and designed to cooperate with one of a plurality of screws adjustably attached to the body so as to connect the clip in locking engagement with the rear surface of the body. Each of the ornamental members may have a different configuration and may be interchangeably secured at various positions along the periphery of the body thereby allowing one to selectively change the ornamental configuration of the frame.

8 Claims, 7 Drawing figures PATENTEDmzmn SHEET 1 [1F 2 FIG-.2

FIG.I

INVENTOR. EDWARD OLCZEWSKI ATTORNEY PICTURE FRAME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Field of the Invention A frame of the type designed to have pictures or the like mounted therein and including a plurality of omamental members capable of being interchangeably positioned at various points along the periphery of the frame body, thereby enabling the ornamental configuration of the frame to be altered.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the manufacturing and designing of frames, of the type intended to support a picture or the like for viewing, it is common practice to provide the framewith various ornamental features. Since picture frames are normally displayed in a place of prominence, the appearance of the frame is of utmost importance and is usually of primary concern when purchasing a picture frame. Consequently, a number of prior art picture frames have been produced which comprise various ornamental features designed to enhance the appearance of the frame. Normally, the ornamental features of a frame form an integral part of its structure and consequently the appearance or ornamental configuration of the frame cannot be readily changed.

In an attempt to provide a frame structure with greater versatility in its appearance, a number of prior art devices include ornaments and the like which are not an integral part of the frame structure and which may be removed. Generally, however, ornaments attached to frames of this type are primarily included on the frameto secure the picture or to serve some other structural feature such as connecting together various parts of the frame itself. As a result the ornamental effect is considered secondary to the structural purpose of these ornamental members. Another disadvantage of the prior art frames include the relatively complex and consequently more expensive structure of the frame. Frames which include this more complex structure are necessarily limited as to the variety of ornamental configurations the frame may take.

Due to the relatively complex structure found in the greater majority of conventional picture frames, versatility in the appearance of the frame is lost. None of the conventional frames known to date include a design having the versatility which allows the entire omamental configuration of the frame to be changed into a plurality of esthetically pleasing shapes. In addition, none of the known picture frame structures are capable of accomplishing such variety of appearance merely by in- SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a picture frame designed and constructed such that the appearance of the frame may be varied by changing the ornamental configuration of the frame into various selected shapes of pleasing appearance. More specifically, the frame comprises a body having a substantially annular configuration and a base portion integrally attached thereto. An opening, in which a picture or the like is to be mounted, is defined in the approximate center of the annular body.

' Means to support the picture comprises a flexible strip attached at each of its extremities to the rear surface of the body such that it extends across the opening. The picture is secured to the body, so that it may be viewed through the opening, by sandwiching its edges between the strip and the rear surface of the body.

A plurality of ornamental members are adapted to be secured at various positions along the outer peripheral edge of the body. Each of the members may be shaped into various designs which, when affixed to the body, provides the frame with a pleasing appearance to the viewer. At least one edge of each member is specifi-v cally shaped to engage a correspondingly shaped portion of the outer peripheral edge. The members on the body of the frame are attached thereto by fastening means in the form of a plurality of screws movably secured to the body. These screws are arranged in a substantially annular configuration corresponding to the annular shape of the body itself. The screws are spaced from one another in a predetermined relation such that various shaped ornamental members may be attached at various points along the peripheral edge of the body. Connecting means are attached to each member and include a clip having a U-shaped portion which is designed to partially surround at least one of the screws as it engages the rear surface of the body. The screws are movably mounted onto the rear surface of the body by being threaded thereto. Therefore, they may be tightened so as to lock the clip into engagement with the rear surface thereby securely fastening a corresponding member to the body. It should be emphasized that the edge of each ornamental member adapted to engage the peripheral edge of the body is so shaped that any member may be attached at a plurality of positions along this peripheral edge. Attachment and removal of the ornamental members is accomplished merely by tightening and loosening the screws relative to the rear surface of the body.

It should further be pointed out that connecting means other than threaded screws may comprise the fastening means. An important feature of the fastening means is the location thereof to allow the interchangeability of positions of the ornamental members and the fact that the fastening means may be adjusted into a locking position so as to securely fasten the members to the body.

Means could also be provided to fasten the omamental members to one another before fastening it to the body of the frame. This would provide additional versatility to the various ornamental configurations the frame may take in that the shape of the individual omamental members, when combined with each other may be greatly varied.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, references should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a frame of the present invention having a plurality of ornamental members attached.

FIG. 2 is a rear view showing means for attaching the plurality of ornamental members to the body of the frame.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing the placement of the ornamental members relative to each other and the body of the frame.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 44 of FIG. 2 showing the structure of the means for connecting the members to the body of the frame.

FIG. 5 is a front view of another embodiment of the picture frame.

FIG. 6 is a rear view of the embodiment of FIG. 5 showing ornamental members attached to one another and to the body of the frame.

FIG. 7 is a front view of another embodiment of the subject picture frame.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The picture frame of the present invention is generally indicated as 10 in FIG. 1 and includes a body 12 having a substantially annular configuration. A base portion 14 is integrally attached to the lower portion of the body 12 and serves to support the frame 10 along with flap 16 which may be hingedly or otherwise attached to the body. The annular body 12 defines a substantially centrally located aperture through which a picture or the like may be viewed.

A picture (not shown) is secured to the body by means of a picture supporting means 20 in the form of an elongated, flexible strip. The strip is attached at each of its extremities 22 and 24 to sides of the body such that the strip 20 extends across the aperture 18. A picture may be attached to the frame by having its opposed edges sandwiched between the strip 20 and the rear surface 26 of the body.

Referring primarily to FIGS. 2 and 3, the body is designed to have ornamental members 28 removably positioned at various points along the outer peripheral edge 30 of the body. As clearly shown in the drawing the ornamental members 28 may have various designs and shapes which may be dependent upon the particular preference of the owner of the frame. Each of the members has at least one edge 32 which is arranged to conform to a portion of the peripheral edge of the body. Each of these edges 32 are shaped such that any member 28 may be mounted at various positions along any portion of peripheral edge 30 thereby providing the frame with great versatility as to its ornamental appearance.

Members 28 and body 12 are connected to each other by fastening means in the form of a plurality of screws 34 adjustably mounted on the rear surface 26 of body 12. The screws are spaced from one another in a predetermined relation so as to define a substantially annular configuration corresponding to the annular configuration of body 12. The spacing of the screws is arranged such that any of the ornamental members 28 may be attached in any of a predetermined plurality of positions around the peripheral edge 30 of body 12.

The screws 34 are designed to cooperate with connecting means in the form of clips 36 securely attached to members 28. Each clip includes a substantially U- shaped channel 38 which is specifically shaped to partially surround at least one of the screws 34 dependent upon the particular location of member 28 along the peripheral edge 30 of the body.

As shown in FIG. 4, a clip 36 is securely attached by means of a screw or like connecting member 40 to the rear surface 42 of ornamental member 28. Consequently, clip 36 is arranged to engage the rear surface 26 of body 12, where it is locked securely thereto by the tightening of screw 34. This looks the abutting edges 30 and 32 of body 12 and ornamental member 28, respectively, into engagement with one another. Any of the members 28 may be removed and changed into a new location merely by the adjusting of screw 34 so as to permit removal of the clip 36 from the rear surface 26 of body 12.

FIGS. 5 and 7 show additional embodiments of the present invention. Each of these embodiments include a frame 10 having a substantially annular body 12 and being supported by a base means 14. FIGS. 5 and 7 demonstrate the versatility of the picture frame in that the ornamental members 28 may be removably attached at various points around the periphery of body 12 thereby producing a frame having various ornamental configurations. As shown in FIG. 6, the ornamental members 28 are attached to screws 34 by means of clips 36 as explained above. In addition, the omamental members may be attached to one another as shown by member 28 being attached to member 28. In this embodiment screw means 35 is also secured to the rear surface of member '28 and positioned to engage clip 36 in order to secure the members together. As can be readily seen, this also greatly adds to the versatility of the frame in that the frame can be arranged to have a large number of ornamental configurations.

As pointed out above, other connecting means, capable of being adjustably mounted on body 12, may be substituted for threaded screws 34 which are shown throughout the figures as comprising the connecting means to which clips 36 are attached. Similarly, the clips 36 may be securely mounted on members 28 by any equivalent means other than screws 40.

It will thus be seen that the objects made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained, and since certain changes may be made in the above product without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all the generic and specificfeatures of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Now that the invention has been described:

What is claimed is:

l. A frame of the type designed to support pictures, said frame comprising: a body including a base integrally formed on said body, picture securing means attached to said body, a plurality of ornamental members detachably mounted on said body, fastening means adjustably secured to said base for mounting said members on said frame, connecting means attached to each of said members so as to cooperatively engage said fastening means, said connecting means comprising a substantially U-shaped member configured to at least partiallysurround said fastening means, said fastening means movably secured to said body so as to be movably positioned into and out of locking engagement with said connecting means.

2. A frame as in claim 1 wherein said members include both fastening means and connecting means mounted thereon, whereby said members may be attached to each other and to said body.

3. A frame as in claim 1 wherein each of said members has at least one edge arranged to operatively engage the outer peripheral edge of said body, said connecting means positioned to operatively engage said fastening means such that said one edge of said member is positionable at a plurality of points along the peripheral edge of said body.

4. A frame as in claim 1 wherein said body has a substantially annular configuration, said fastening means comprising a plurality of screws arranged in a substantially annular configuration about said body.

5. A frame as in claim 1 wherein said body includes an opening defined in the approximate center thereof, said picture securing means comprises a strip attached at each of its ends to said body so as to be positioned substantially across said opening of said body, whereby a picture may be mounted on said body in sandwiched relation between said strip and said body so as to be viewed through said opening.

6. A frame as in claim 5 wherein at least one of said U-shaped members is positioned on the rear surface of each of said members in corresponding position to engage at least one of said fastening means.

7. A frame as in claim 1 wherein each of said fastening means comprises a screw, a plurality of said screws secured to the rear surface of said body in spaced relation to one another, each of said U-shaped members arranged to engage the rear surface of said body in locking engagement with at least one of said screws.

8. A frame as in claim 1 wherein said body has a substantially annular configuration, said fastening means comprising a plurality of screws arranged in spaced relation to one another in a substantially annular configuration on the rear surface of said body; each U- shaped member being arranged on said members so as to partially surround at least one of said screws, each member including at least one edge shaped to engage the outer peripheral edge of said body, each of said screws movably secured to said body so as to removably secure at least one U-shaped member to the rear surface of said body at one of a plurality of positions along the outer peripheral edge of said body. 

1. A frame of the type designed to support pictures, said frame comprising: a body including a base integrally formed on said body, picture securing means attached to said body, a plurality of ornamental members detachably mounted on said body, fastening means adjustably secured to said base for mounting said members on said frame, connecting means attached to each of said members so as to cooperatively engage said fastening means, said connecting means comprising a substantially U-shaped member configured to at least partially surround said fastening means, said fastening means movably secured to said body so as to be movably positioned into and out of locking engagement with said connecting means.
 2. A frame as in claim 1 wherein said members include both fastening means and connecting means mounted thereon, whereby said members may be attached to each other and to said body.
 3. A frame as in claim 1 wherein each of said members has at least one edge arranged to operatively engage the outer peripheral edge of said body, said connecting means positioned to operatively engage said fastening means such that said one edge of said member is positionable at a plurality of points along the peripheral edge of said body.
 4. A frame as in claim 1 wherein said body has a substantially annular configuration, said fastening means comprising a plurality of screws arranged in a substantially annular configuration about said body.
 5. A frame as in claim 1 wherein said body includes an opening defined in the approximate center thereof, said picture securing means comprises a strip attached at each of its ends to said body so as to be positioned substantially across said opening of said body, whereby a picture may be mounted on said body in sandwiched relation between said strip and said body so as to be viewed through said opening.
 6. A frame as in claim 5 wherein at least one of said U-shaped members is positioned on the rear surface of each of said members in corresponding position to engage at least one of said fastening means.
 7. A frame as in claim 1 wherein each of said fastening means comprises a screw, a plurality of said screws secured to the rear surface of said body in spaced relation to one another, each of said U-shaped members arranged to engage the rear surface of said body in locking engagement with at least One of said screws.
 8. A frame as in claim 1 wherein said body has a substantially annular configuration, said fastening means comprising a plurality of screws arranged in spaced relation to one another in a substantially annular configuration on the rear surface of said body; each U-shaped member being arranged on said members so as to partially surround at least one of said screws, each member including at least one edge shaped to engage the outer peripheral edge of said body, each of said screws movably secured to said body so as to removably secure at least one U-shaped member to the rear surface of said body at one of a plurality of positions along the outer peripheral edge of said body. 